State v. Adam11/26/2001
addition to the anticipated testimony of [Adam], [Adam] offered evidence of prior acts of violence and aggressiveness on the part of John Wentworth, the alleged victim in this case, and evidence of drunk driving convictions (to show his disregard for the safety of others). (Record citation omitted.)
Although Rule 404, Hawaii Rules of Evidence (HRE), generally prohibits evidence of a person's character or a trait of a person's character for the purpose of proving action in conformity therewith on a particular occasion, HRE Rule 404(a)(2) allows " vidence of a pertinent trait of character of the victim of the crime offered by an accused[.]" However, HRE Rule 404(b) limits the use of evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts as follows:
Other crimes, wrongs, or acts. Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible where such evidence is probative of another fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, modus operandi, or absence of mistake or accident. In criminal cases, the proponent of evidence to be offered under this subsection shall provide reasonable notice in advance of trial, or during trial if the court excuses pretrial notice on good cause shown, of the date, location, and general nature of any such evidence it intends to introduce at trial.
In State v. Lui, 61 Haw. 328, 603 P.2d 151 (1979), which was decided prior to the adoption of the Hawaii Rules of Evidence in 1980, Lui argued that "he was denied his right to present evidence when the court refused to admit character evidence on specific acts of prior violence committed by deceased." Id. at 329, 603 P.2d at 154. The Hawaii Supreme Court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the evidence because the facts were clear that the defendant, and not the victim, had been the aggressor. In other words, evidence of the victim's record of criminal violence was not pertinent to any dispute of material fact in the case.
In State v. Basque, 66 Haw. 510, 666 P.2d 599 (1983), the Hawaii Supreme Court reversed the trial court's denial of Basque's request to introduce a homicide victim's record of criminal violence. There was struggle between Basque and the victim for Basque's gun and the evidence presented was unclear and conflicting as to who was the aggressor. The State's version was that Basque shot the gun and wounded the victim and then, in a struggle for the gun, another shot killed the victim. Basque's version was that Basque and the victim grabbed for the gun at the same time and, during the struggle, both shots were fired. In other words, evidence of the victim's record of criminal violence was pertinent to the question of whether Basque was trying to prevent the victim from using the gun to harm Basque.
Notwithstanding the prohibition of HRE Rule 404(b), in Basque, the Hawaii Supreme Court stated, in relevant part, as follows:
In Lui, however, we treated general character evidence and specific prior acts (including those reflected in the victim's criminal record) the same for purposes of corroborating a defendant's self-defense claim as to who was the aggressor. A growing number of other courts are in accord. As Dean Wigmore has stated: here is no substantial reason against evidencing the character (of a deceased victim) by particular instances of violent or quarrelsome conduct. Such instances may be very significant; their number can be controlled by the trial court's discretion; and the prohibitory considerations applicable to a
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hawaii DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|